1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to the field of reposable or reusable surgical instruments. In particular, the disclosure relates to instruments having structures for facilitating cleaning and refurbishment of the instruments for reuse.
2. Background of Related Art
Instruments such as electrosurgical forceps are commonly used in open and endoscopic surgical procedures to coagulate, cauterize and seal tissue. Such forceps typically include a pair of jaws that can be controlled by a surgeon to grasp targeted tissue, such as, e.g., a blood vessel. The jaws may be approximated to apply a mechanical clamping force to the tissue, and are associated with at least one electrode surface to permit the delivery of electrosurgical energy to the tissue. The combination of the mechanical clamping force and the electrosurgical energy has been demonstrated to join adjacent layers of tissue captured between the jaws. When the adjacent layers of tissue include the walls of a blood vessel, sealing the tissue may result in hemostasis. Thereafter, the sealed tissue may be transected by advancing a knife through the jaws. A detailed discussion of the use of an electrosurgical forceps may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,697 to Dycus et al.
In use, various tissue-contacting components of an electrosurgical forceps tend to become contaminated or degraded. For example, electrodes may become contaminated as portions of the treated tissue adhere to the tissue-contacting surfaces of the electrodes. Also, a knife blade may become dull and less effective in transecting sealed tissue after repeated use, even in a single surgical procedure. In order to provide clean electrodes and a sharp knife for a particular surgical procedure, a brand new instrument is often used. Once the procedure is complete, the used instrument is discarded.
Instruments that are reposable, or reusable for multiple procedures, reduce the instrumentation costs per procedure. Providing a reusable electrosurgical forceps, however, presents various challenges. For example, the complexity of an electrosurgical forceps tends to result in fairly labor intensive cleaning procedures to prepare the forceps for subsequent use. Improper cleaning may result in dangerous contamination being introduced into the surgical site. Also, some reusable forceps have removable and replaceable components that provide clean surfaces for each use. Many of these instruments require arduous disassembly and reassembly procedures that require extensive training, and may discourage use of the instrument.